Anfield the acid test for Ole Gunnar

THIS time last year there was a giddiness around Old Trafford. Understandably so really. The dead yoke of the José Mourinho era had been lifted, the handbrake left off and there was the chance for Manchester United to be Manchester United again. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first few months in charge were charmed. He barely lost a game. They seemed to be doing things the United way. The fans were happy. Former players and pundits were falling over themselves to praise the Norwegian and call for his appointment on a full-time basis.

Traditional rivals were looking nervously over their shoulders – especially skittish Liverpool fans, still fearful of the Devils up the coast from Merseyside – but almost as soon as the ink was dry on Solskjaer’s long-term contract the cracks began to show. The ‘Ole’s at the wheel’ meme went from being a point of pride for Manchester United fans to source of mirth for the non-United inclined (think of that gif of the Formula 1 car with its front wheels falling off).

Twelve months on it’s hard to know exactly where the Solskjaer project sits. The level of inconsistency must be infuriating for the United faithful. Even their performances against the bigger teams – which have generally been quite good – in a roundabout sort of way only add to the frustration for when Solskjaer’s men fall flat on their face against the lesser lights.

There’s good and there’s bad and it’s a work in progress, but even so there’s something a little unconvincing about Solskjaer as manager. Too nice a guy to make the really hard calls is one critique. Backed into a corner by the Pogba situation is another. Still it would probably be rash to ditch him as manager so soon after appointing him. Yes United’s performance against Manchester City in the first leg of the League Cup recently was worrying, but City are City and United’s league form and position aren’t that bad (they sit in fifth).

All the same there’s a lot riding on their visit to Anfield this Sunday afternoon. Solskjaer can probably survive a defeat, but he can’t survive too many more humblings like the one from a couple of weeks back. There’s a lot at stake.